jude law – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY – Review by Walker Conger (Mentorship Program Critic)

March 2, 2026March 8, 2026 Guest Post Anthony Minghella, AWFJ/UNCSA MENTORSHIP PROGRAM, cate blanchett, gwyneth paltrow, Jack Davenport, jude law, matt damon, Patricia Highsmith, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Talented Mr. Ripley, walker conger

When Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) first plays the piano while wearing a borrowed Princeton jacket, there’s no way to expect what a thrilling ride director Anthony Minghella will take you on for the next two hours in his 1999 adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name, this underrated entry of Damon’s extensive filmography captures the beautiful Italian scenery of small, tight-knit towns and the expansiveness of Rome and Venice. Aided by the heavy use of jazz throughout the score, the film paints a picture of a carefree, “la dolce vita” post-war lifestyle that would be very enticing to a struggling New York restroom attendant like Tom Ripley.

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BLACK RABBIT – Review by Susan Granger

September 23, 2025September 28, 2025 Susan Granger Amaka Okafor, Black Rabbit, jason bateman, jude law, Kate Susman, miniseries, netflix, Odessa Young, Troy Kotsur, Zach Baylin

Creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman skirt in and out of the criminal underworld, never fully committing to an urban crime drama. While actor/director Jason Bateman was able to artfully juggle financial disaster, family crises and ethical/moral dilemmas for four seasons of Ozark, it doesn’t work here. You just don’t care about the miserably dysfunctional, co-dependent brothers or their stumbling subplots.

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EDEN – Review by T.J. Callahan

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 T. J. Callahan ana de armas, Daniel Bruehl, Galapagos, jude law, ron howard, Sydney Sweeney, vanessa kirby

Eden is Gilligan’s Island meets Lord of the Flies. Based on “those who survived”, the Ron Howard film is the true story of Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his partner, Dore Strauch, who settled on Floreana Island in the Galapagos to live a better life alone, foraging for themselves while escaping the collapsing economy of WWI Germany. Ritter’s letters home soon became glamorized by the press encouraging others to join “Paradise”. He was the first influencer without meaning to be.

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THE ORDER – Review by Susan Granger

January 27, 2025February 2, 2025 Susan Granger aryan nations, jamie bowen, jude law, Justin Kurzel, Prime Video, the order, the silent brotherhood, The Turner Diaries, victor slezak

Based on a true story that delves into America’s scourge of white supremacy, The Order stars Jude Law as a veteran FBI agent who stumbles on a virulent hate group operating in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s. When grizzled Terry Husk (Law) is dispatched to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 1983, his assignment is to investigate a series of bank and armored-car robberies, along with a synagogue bombing and murder of Denver talk-show host Alan Berg. Working with a conscientous local cop, Husk discovers undeniable links to a secluded mountain cult called Aryan Nations, headed by cautious Rev. Richard Butler.

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FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE – Review by Susan Granger

May 9, 2022May 11, 2022 Susan Granger Colleen Atwood, Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, jude law, Mads Mikkelsen, Stuart Craig

Considering this installment of the Wizarding World sub-franchise was written by Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling and Steve Klovesand and directed by Harry Potter\” veteran David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is decidedly underwhelming, a dull, Dumble-snore, two-and-a-half hours of murky tedium, making one want to beg the Potterverse to stop making these inferior spin-offs.

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FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE – Review by Leslie Combemale

April 14, 2022 Leslie Combemale Colleen Atwood, Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, jude law, Mads Mikkelsen, Stuart Craig

Happily, Warner Brothers and the filmmakers behind Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have openly flouted ‘Don’t Say Gay’ absurdities with the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Right out of the gate, Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gridelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) talk about the love and devotion they once had for each other. No one is hit over the head with it. It was part of the life they once shared. That’s just one of some very adult, and often understated qualities to appreciate in the new film.

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THE NEST – Review by Susan Granger

January 21, 2021January 22, 2021 Susan Granger Carrie Coon, jude law, sean durkin, the nest

In the 1980s, one of the Ladies’ Home Journal’s most popular features was “Can This Marriage Be Saved?” drawing from the files of marital therapists and counselors. Following that model, writer/director Sean Durkin introduces hot-shot British commodities broker Rory O’Hara who leaves Wall Street to return to the U.K. with his American wife Allison, an avid equestrian, and two children: young Benjamin and his teenage half-sister Samantha.

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THE NEST – Brandy McDonnell reviews

September 24, 2020September 27, 2020 Brandy McDonnell 0 Comments Carrie Coon, jude law, sean durkin, the nest

The auteur, who broke out with the acclaimed 2011 psychological drama “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” has recruited two of the best actors working today to roost in “The Nest”: Jude Law (the “Sherlock Holmes” series) and Carrie Coon (“Gone Girl”).

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THE NEST – Review by Martha K Baker

September 18, 2020September 19, 2020 Martha K. Baker (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments Carrie Coon, jude law, sean durkin, the nest

Director Sean Durkin made Mary Marcy May Marlene in 2011, then lapsed until writing and directing The Nest this year. Both films are opaque, unresolved, mysterious, tense, and unsatisfying. Like MMMM, The Nest pretends to art, so do not expect the film to explain the title. No nest here.